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The Darkness Within: Final Cut
ZOMBIES ON A SPACESHIP! Chief Engineer Madison Whitehawk suspects foul play when a series of small anomalies occur aboard the ark ship Freedom. But Madison's fears are nothing compared to the impending disaster heading their way. As the team of scientists, engineers and crew take their precious colonist cargo towards New Earth a deadly parasite has found its way onboard. Soon Madison, Second Officer Crichton and colonist Syra Connor are fighting for their life's against trusted friends and former lovers. What is the parasite that changes the minds and behaviour of those it infects? And how can the crew of the Freedom destroy the darkness within?
184 pages, Paperback
First published September 2, 2013
13 people want to read
About the author
Sam Stone
57 books96 followers'Mistress of the grisly and the glutinous' - GRAHAM MASTERTON
'A deceptively readable date with darkness – watch your step! This book is lit for the much more discerning chick (and cock) who likes to walk in the shadows. Relax with it, but be prepared for sudden jewels and little masterpieces – and the rug to be pulled from under your feet.’ - TANITH LEE on Killing Kiss.
GENRE AUTHOR.
Award winning genre writer Sam Stone began writing aged 11 after reading her first adult fiction book, The Collector by John Fowles.
Sam's writing has appeared in many anthologies for poetry and prose. Like all good authors she drew on her own knowledge and passions to write her first novel which the Silver Award for Best Horror Novel in ForeWord Magazine's book of the year awards in 2007.
In September 2008 the novel was re-edited and republished by The House of Murky Depths as KILLING KISS. Sequels, FUTILE FLAME and DEMON DANCE went on to become finalists in the same awards for 2009/2010. Both novels were later Shortlisted for The British Fantasy Society Awards for Best Novel and DEMON DANCE won the award for Best Novel in 2011. Sam also won Best Short Fiction for her story FOOL'S GOLD which first appeared in the NewCon Press Anthology THE BITTEN WORD.
In 2011 Sam was commissioned by Reeltime Pictures to write a monologue for their talking heads style DOCTOR WHO spin-off, WHITE WITCH OF DEVIL'S END. She was also co-script editor with David J Howe. The six part drama, starring Damaris Hayman, was released on DVD to much critical acclaim in Nov 2017 by Koch Media as part of boxset called THE DAEMONS OF DEVIL'S END. Sam also edited and wrote a story in the novelisation inspired by the drama for Telos Publishing also called THE DAEMONS OF DEVIL'S END.
Other works include official Sherlock Holmes stories for Constable and Robinson and Titan. Sam also wrote a Dorian Gray story for Big Finish’s successful series THE CONFESSIONS OF DORIAN GRAY.
Sam was commissioned by Telos to write several sequels to her hugely successful Steampunk Novella ZOMBIE'S AT TIFFANY'S. The audio rights were subsequently bought by Spokenworld Audio and were made available for download in Halloween 2013. In January 2015 the first novel of her new post-apocalyptic trilogy, JINX TOWN - Book 1˗ THE JINX CHRONICLES, was published by Telos and was been followed by Book 2: JINX MAGIC in 2016. The final part JINX BOUND was published in July 2018.
The rights for Sam’s supernatural thriller, POSING FOR PICASSO were acquired by Kevin J Anderson and Rebecca Moesta’s publishing house, Wordfire Press, in 2016. Peter James said that it was ‘A powerful mix of the supernatural and police investigation’.
An eclectic and skilled writer Sam also has a BA (Hons) in English and Writing for Performance and an MA in Creative Writing, which means that she is often invited to talk about writing in schools, colleges and universities in the UK. Sam is also frequently invited to appear as a guest at literary events, conventions and Comic Cons in the UK, USA and Canada.
'A deceptively readable date with darkness – watch your step! This book is lit for the much more discerning chick (and cock) who likes to walk in the shadows. Relax with it, but be prepared for sudden jewels and little masterpieces – and the rug to be pulled from under your feet.’ - TANITH LEE on Killing Kiss.
GENRE AUTHOR.
Award winning genre writer Sam Stone began writing aged 11 after reading her first adult fiction book, The Collector by John Fowles.
Sam's writing has appeared in many anthologies for poetry and prose. Like all good authors she drew on her own knowledge and passions to write her first novel which the Silver Award for Best Horror Novel in ForeWord Magazine's book of the year awards in 2007.
In September 2008 the novel was re-edited and republished by The House of Murky Depths as KILLING KISS. Sequels, FUTILE FLAME and DEMON DANCE went on to become finalists in the same awards for 2009/2010. Both novels were later Shortlisted for The British Fantasy Society Awards for Best Novel and DEMON DANCE won the award for Best Novel in 2011. Sam also won Best Short Fiction for her story FOOL'S GOLD which first appeared in the NewCon Press Anthology THE BITTEN WORD.
In 2011 Sam was commissioned by Reeltime Pictures to write a monologue for their talking heads style DOCTOR WHO spin-off, WHITE WITCH OF DEVIL'S END. She was also co-script editor with David J Howe. The six part drama, starring Damaris Hayman, was released on DVD to much critical acclaim in Nov 2017 by Koch Media as part of boxset called THE DAEMONS OF DEVIL'S END. Sam also edited and wrote a story in the novelisation inspired by the drama for Telos Publishing also called THE DAEMONS OF DEVIL'S END.
Other works include official Sherlock Holmes stories for Constable and Robinson and Titan. Sam also wrote a Dorian Gray story for Big Finish’s successful series THE CONFESSIONS OF DORIAN GRAY.
Sam was commissioned by Telos to write several sequels to her hugely successful Steampunk Novella ZOMBIE'S AT TIFFANY'S. The audio rights were subsequently bought by Spokenworld Audio and were made available for download in Halloween 2013. In January 2015 the first novel of her new post-apocalyptic trilogy, JINX TOWN - Book 1˗ THE JINX CHRONICLES, was published by Telos and was been followed by Book 2: JINX MAGIC in 2016. The final part JINX BOUND was published in July 2018.
The rights for Sam’s supernatural thriller, POSING FOR PICASSO were acquired by Kevin J Anderson and Rebecca Moesta’s publishing house, Wordfire Press, in 2016. Peter James said that it was ‘A powerful mix of the supernatural and police investigation’.
An eclectic and skilled writer Sam also has a BA (Hons) in English and Writing for Performance and an MA in Creative Writing, which means that she is often invited to talk about writing in schools, colleges and universities in the UK. Sam is also frequently invited to appear as a guest at literary events, conventions and Comic Cons in the UK, USA and Canada.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
February 19, 2026
I love sci-fi horror and zombies so this felt like it was written for me. It's awesome, I loved the writing, and had a great time. I think this is only the second 5 star rating I've given this year so far.
September 3, 2022
ZOMBIES ON A SPACESHIP!
If that tagline doesn’t grab you, then read no further. If, however, it gets you just the slightest bit excited, then by all means keep on reading. Trust me, this is one mission worth signing up for!
The Darkness Within: Final Cut is a near-perfect mash up of science fiction and horror, an interstellar zombie tale that actually manages to take advantage of the high-tech setting. Having seen so many other attempts (books and movies alike) fail so miserably, I was somewhat cautious – skeptical, even –
upon receiving the review invite. Fortunately, for every time Jason, Leprechaun, or Pinhead have been sent into outer space, there are movies like the Alien Saga to demonstrate how it should be done, and Sam Stone has clearly done the right kind of homework.
What we have here is a somewhat typical science fiction tale, with a self-described Ark transporting a group of colonists to start life all over on a new Earth. It’s a very clean, very sterile sort of environment, more akin to Star Trek: TNG than Alien, but that’s part of what makes the inevitable horror so effective. It’s not a perfect environment – there’s a class struggle between the colonists and the crew, and some minor technical glitches to deal with - but it’s familiar.
Things begin to go astray about a year into the mission when one of the crew retrieves a shiny shard of rock from the ship’s debris collector. One of those minor technical glitches causes him to be reeled in too fast, damaging his spacesuit, and causing him to grasp the strange shard tightly enough to cut through his hand. Neither the ship’s surgeons nor their automated quarantine measures can detect it, but Banks is most definitely infected.
And so the horror begins.
How and why the infection spreads is half the story, with how and why the parasites evolve forming the other half. It’s an incredibly gory, unsettling sort of tale, with some really unsettling implications for mankind’s future. Not to overhype it, but I believe Stone may have very effectively imagined a means of parasitic infection that compares to the Alien chest-bursters in terms of shock value and the overall gross-out factor. Even after reading of several such infections, my own queasiness came back as strong as it did the first time.
There are some nice twists and turns to the tale, with more than a few surprises along the way. I honestly wasn’t sure just how dark of an ending Stone might be leading up to, but I think she crafted a climax that’s as fitting as it is enjoyable. If you’re a fan of horror in outer space, then The Darkness Within is a definite must-read . . . although an empty stomach is advised.
Originally reviewed at Beauty in Ruins
If that tagline doesn’t grab you, then read no further. If, however, it gets you just the slightest bit excited, then by all means keep on reading. Trust me, this is one mission worth signing up for!
The Darkness Within: Final Cut is a near-perfect mash up of science fiction and horror, an interstellar zombie tale that actually manages to take advantage of the high-tech setting. Having seen so many other attempts (books and movies alike) fail so miserably, I was somewhat cautious – skeptical, even –
upon receiving the review invite. Fortunately, for every time Jason, Leprechaun, or Pinhead have been sent into outer space, there are movies like the Alien Saga to demonstrate how it should be done, and Sam Stone has clearly done the right kind of homework.
What we have here is a somewhat typical science fiction tale, with a self-described Ark transporting a group of colonists to start life all over on a new Earth. It’s a very clean, very sterile sort of environment, more akin to Star Trek: TNG than Alien, but that’s part of what makes the inevitable horror so effective. It’s not a perfect environment – there’s a class struggle between the colonists and the crew, and some minor technical glitches to deal with - but it’s familiar.
Things begin to go astray about a year into the mission when one of the crew retrieves a shiny shard of rock from the ship’s debris collector. One of those minor technical glitches causes him to be reeled in too fast, damaging his spacesuit, and causing him to grasp the strange shard tightly enough to cut through his hand. Neither the ship’s surgeons nor their automated quarantine measures can detect it, but Banks is most definitely infected.
And so the horror begins.
How and why the infection spreads is half the story, with how and why the parasites evolve forming the other half. It’s an incredibly gory, unsettling sort of tale, with some really unsettling implications for mankind’s future. Not to overhype it, but I believe Stone may have very effectively imagined a means of parasitic infection that compares to the Alien chest-bursters in terms of shock value and the overall gross-out factor. Even after reading of several such infections, my own queasiness came back as strong as it did the first time.
There are some nice twists and turns to the tale, with more than a few surprises along the way. I honestly wasn’t sure just how dark of an ending Stone might be leading up to, but I think she crafted a climax that’s as fitting as it is enjoyable. If you’re a fan of horror in outer space, then The Darkness Within is a definite must-read . . . although an empty stomach is advised.
Originally reviewed at Beauty in Ruins
February 19, 2026
I had a blast with this book, it's really REALLY fun. Zombies in space? Yes please, and this book really didn't let me down. I'm really sparse with my five star ratings these days but I couldn't give this anything less, it's an absolute hoot.
June 11, 2015
The Earth's sun is dying and in order to survive ships are being sent to the "New Earth" in space. The chosen ones are picked by their DNA, ability to breed, and their intelligence. These chosen colonists set out on an adventure to save the human race. The purpose of the chosen ones is to "pair" by the time they get to the New Earth and establish a new generation of humans on their new planet. Sam Stone first sets the background and personalities of the characters before she gets into the heart of the story. The colonist are separated by class when they are in the space ship but once they are on the New Earth they will all have to help to carry the load of making a new life on another planet. Everything is going well for the first year on board until one of the crew is contaminated by a piece of space debris. The transformation from a human being to a Zombie like creature is slow and somewhat unnoticeable to the rest of the crew and colonists. As more and more characters become infected with the parasite the suspense begins and the story really takes on twists and turns. Will the crew be able to save the colonists from the danger within the spaceship? Will anyone survive? The Darkness Within was the first horror/sci-fi fiction I have read by Sam Stone and I found it very delightful reading. She mixes intrigue, horror, some sexual content, and sci-fi to produce a book worth reading. Looking forward to more of Sam's books in the future.
December 1, 2014
While not the most well-written book I've ever read (the narration was kind of clumsy), the story was nonetheless an interesting. A zombie story in space, in a nutshell. But one thing that could have made it better was if the story was a little longer. The final confrontation seemed too rushed and a little bit anti-climactic. I did like the characters, though. So, a pretty good read, though not great.
November 26, 2016
Fun
This was a nice fun quick read. I would recommend this to past the time on a short train/coach journey. Wouldn't say the plot's particularly original but the pace is fast. Over all a good entertaining romp.
This was a nice fun quick read. I would recommend this to past the time on a short train/coach journey. Wouldn't say the plot's particularly original but the pace is fast. Over all a good entertaining romp.
December 13, 2016
interesting story, though predictable
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews